Pictus Geckos
(aka Panther,  Ocelot, or Big-Headed)

These are very attractive little ground dwelling geckos from Southern Madagascar. They will generally only grow to about five inches long, although, if well cared for, males could potential gain an extra inch or two more. My breeding male is easily six inches long. Mine are the red banded phase, but I've seen pictures of some spectacular striped Pictus which I'd love to add to my collection in the future. I've also heard of a xanthic form, but haven't seen any pictures of one yet.

The cute little guys have pretty minimal caging requirements. A ten gallon cage will work well for one gecko, or possibly a male and female pair, but I'd recommend a twenty gallon cage for breeding as this gives them both a little more room to escape from eachother if they need to.

Like other ground dwelling geckos they'll need two hide boxes, one on the cool end of the cage and one on the warm end. When your gecko's skin starts looking pale and ready to shed you can help make it a lot easier for them by placing damp moss or paper towel in the hides.

Pictus like to have about 75% humidity in their cages. If you use a rack system that's easier to achieve than a screen topped aquarium. For screen top aquarium users I'd recommend misting the entire cage with water daily and making sure that there is a good sized shallow bowl of water always in the cage. If you can't seem to keep your humidity up, try covering two thirds of your screen top (leave some open for fresh air!) with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in better.

Bedding choice can also help with humidity levels. I really like the Bed-a-beast shredded coconut substrate for my cages. It tends to hold moisture a little better and looks pretty nice. 

Day time temperatures should be around 85°F as a base, with the warm end of the cage up to 88°F. Night temperatures should be around 80°F and not lower than 75°.

Gut loaded crickets or mealworms are the best staple food for Pictus unless they are very thin or breeding female, than I'd recommend waxworms to put or keep weight on them. Any food insect should be dusted with a high-quality vitamin and calcium supplement mix before feeding. Providing a shallow dish with a little extra supplement in the cage is recommend as some geckos will actually go to the bowl and lick out the supplement themselves.

Male Pictus geckos have very prominent bulges at the base of the tail and will be heavier and larger than females. Females need to be healthy and at least 20grams before they're bred, and should be removed from the male for a recuperation period after her third or fourth clutch.

You must be very careful when removing eggs from the cage to be incubated as they are very small and delicate. Gently scooping them out with a spoon is probably the best way to move them. They may be slightly buried in the bedding, so take care that you don't accidently dislodge or destroy them when cleaning out the cage of a breeding pair.

Eggs should be incubated at around 83°-85°F, and should start hatching in about thirty to sixty days from the time you put them into the incubator. It's not possible to incubate for a specific sex as you can in leopard geckos, you'll simply have to wait and see what pops out of Pictus eggs!

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